George
W. Bush and the teachings of Jesus
Additional copies of this handout available for distribution at The Religious Left (http://religiousleft.bmgbiz.net)Living
in a threatening "post 9-11" world, many Christians derive comfort
from the idea that the United States is under the leadership of a prayerful,
Christian president. According to Howard Fineman of Newsweek (March 10,
2003), the Bush presidency is the most resolutely "faith-based"
in modern times. During the presidential campaign of 2000, Bush named
Jesus Christ as his "favorite philosopher", and Bush routinely
ends speeches with the words "May God continue to bless America."

But in the
Matthew, Chapter 7, Jesus says "Watch out for false prophets. They
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
By their fruit you will recognize them." We are cautioned not to
pay attention merely to these people's words, but to look at their actions,
and the "fruits" of their actions.

This
is by no means an exhaustive discussion of Bush's words, actions, and
policies through the lens of the teachings of Jesus. It really only scratches
the surface. But hopefully it can serve as an invitation--to look behind
the religiously tinged speech of George W. Bush and examine whether or
not he is really a leader who bases his decisions on "what Jesus
would do." To learn more about Bush's style of Christianity, read
the article, Dangerous Religion: George W. Bush's theology of empire,
by Jim Wallis of Sojourner's Magazine http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0309&article=030910
and Bush and God, by Howard Fineman of Newsweek Magazine http://www.middleeastinfo.org/article2136.html

On Public PrayerWhen a
California federal appeals court found that including the words "under
God" in the Pledge of Alliegance was an unconstitutional endorsement
of religion, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said President
Bush believes the ruling is "ridiculous." (CNN.com, June 27,
2002)

( In spite of his secular role in a country with a plurality of religions)
By proclamation of Governor George W. Bush, 10 June 2000 was 'Jesus Day'
in Texas. (Snopes.com)

(Matthew
6:4-6) And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to
pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by
men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But
when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father,
who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward
you.

On
ForgivenessBush
indicated that he was running out of patience. Asked if he planned to set
an ultimatum for Saddam's compliance, Bush suggested that would be pointless,
like extending "another, another, another last chance." (CBS News,
Feb 18, 2003)

(Matthew
18:22) Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall
I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus
answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

On
Mercy In an interview with Talk magazine, Bush imitated (Karla
Faye) Tucker's appeal for him to spare her life - pursing his lips, squinting
his eyes, and in a squeaky voice saying, "Please don't kill me."
(Wayne Madsen, CounterPunch.org)

(Luke
6) Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful

On Good
and Evilreferred
to Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil". (State of
the Union Address, 2002)
--repeatedly refers to struggle between good and evil, always casting
the actions of the United States as "good" "...there's
power, wonder-working power, in the goodness and idealism and faith of
the American people."(State
of the Union Address, 2003)

On
Capital PunishmentDuring his
tenure as Governor, Bush presided over a record setting 152 executions...The
Washington Post's Richard Cohen reported in October 2000 that one of the
execution chamber's "tie-down team" members, Fred Allen, had to
prepare so many people for lethal injections during 2000, he quit his job
in disgust.(Wayne
Madsen, CounterPunch.org)

(John 8) The teachers
of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They
made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this
woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us
to stone such women. Now what do you say?" When they kept on questioning
him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without
sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

(Matthew 25) "Then
the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by
my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the
creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and
you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and
you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry
and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we
see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for
one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'